Wolfgang
Wolfgang is the second unlockable character (320 XP, see Experience for more information on how to unlock him). Wolfgang does higher damage in melee combat and has more health. This gives him great advantages when fighting against Monsters or destroying Spider Dens. He also has a larger stomach at a max of 300 and a starting amount of 200, but his hunger will decrease faster or slower depending on how full it is. Wolfgang also loses his Sanity much more quickly than other characters when in the Dark or when near hostile Mobs such as Spiders .__TOC__ Special Power Buff Wolfgang's Special Power buff is a physical upgrade when at 225 hunger or above. Wolfgang will rip off his shirt, gain numerous arm muscles, and have a more rounded head with a bigger mustache (original wolfgang head design). He will receive a damage and health bonus in this state. He also receives a slight but noticeable speed boost. His health will go from 200 to 300. Wolfgang's Hunger will also decrease very fast in this state. Debuff Wolfgang's Special Power debuff is a physical downgrade when at 100 hunger or less. His apperance will become a sad and more pathetic looking version of Wolfgang. His health and damage will lower in this state. Wolfgang's Hunger will also decrease at a normal rate in this state. His max health will go from 200 down to 150 at 0 hunger. Strategy {outdated} Wolfgang is generally regarded as a "beginner" to "intermediate" level character due to the nature of his perks. His bonus 75 Health, 75 Hunger, and 50% damage increase, give benefits to experienced players as well as beginners. They may at first glance appear to be very powerful when compared to other characters, but after a deeper examination, Wolfgang's perks are actually rather balanced. Tanking vs. Kiting The concept of "tanking" usually refers to standing in place with heavy armor and damage resistance, and allowing multiple enemies, or one big enemy, to attack you. The concept of "kiting" (K.I.T. - Kill In Transit) refers to staying mobile, and either using ranged attacks against an enemy, or quickly closing in on an enemy, attacking, and moving out before it can defend or attack in response. These are the two basic forms of combat in Don't Starve, and Wolfgang's increased health makes him particularly suited for tanking. So, when is tanking necessary in Don't Starve? There are of course unforeseen and randomly occurring events that the player cannot prepare for, and in these cases it may be easiest to stand your ground and attack all enemies that are threatening you. Aside from these events, and with sufficient Armor, tanking can be effectively used under several circumstances: *Farming Spiders for Silk can be done more effectively while tanking due to their tendency to group together and attack as a pack. Spiders spawn quickly from Spider Dens, and spawn in large groups from dens that haven't been disturbed in a while. Wolfgang's bonus damage and higher health allow him to farm spiders in large groups more safely, and with higher efficiency. Kiting a large group of spiders and Spider Warriors is usually not advised because they attack quickly and will usually get several attacks off on the player while attempting to kite. *Farming Bees and Killer Bees is also easier as Wolfgang for the same reasons as above. Kiting bees can be easier than kiting spiders, but for large groups that attack as a singular swarm, tanking may be necessary. With a Dark Sword, and Wolfgang's bonus damage, he is capable of killing Killer Bees in a single hit, dealing 102 damage to an enemy with 100 health. *Blue Hounds, which spawn at Walrus Camps are also easily farmed as Wolfgang due to their rapid respawn rate, and low health (100). The main benefit of farming Blue Hounds is for gathering their Hound's Teeth which are primarily used for Tooth Traps. When a late game player is setting up walls and defenses around his/her base, it would be a wise strategy to create a narrow corridor of Tooth Traps and Bee Mines for future Hound attacks. *Frogs are an enemy that is notorious for unexpectedly amassing into a large group and quickly escalating their threat to the player. While the benefits of farming frogs is actually rather low, there may be circumstances where attacking the group may be unavoidable. With all of this in mind, Wolfgang's aptitude for tanking large groups of enemies will lead to a higher and more efficient acquisition of "rare" or "Mob loot" materials. This greater efficiency suggests Wolfgang should focus on gathering early game (day 1-10) Silk, Honey, and Honeycomb. The silk will be useful for making Bug Nets used to catch bees and Butterflies, and the Honeycomb will be needed to create Bee Boxes. This allows Wolfgang to setup early game Honey production sooner than most other characters, and is highly recommended if a group of Bee Hives has been discovered early on. The Marble Suit is especially useful to a Wolfgang player who is looking to do some heavy tanking of large groups due to the reduced movement speed, and thus reduced kiting effectiveness, but increased Durability and damage reduction of the armor. The health reduction from a Meat Effigy is also less of an issue for Wolfgang due to his increased health. Heavy Hitting Survival At first, Wolfgang's bonus damage and health may appear to be incredibly powerful to the player. However, as players progress and become more skilled at wilderness survival and combat, killing even the toughest of foes without ever taking even a single point of damage becomes not all that uncommon with proper kiting technique. With this in mind, the main benefit of Wolfgang's damage bonus, in the hands of a skilled player, is the fact that it allows players to dispatch enemies more quickly, which can be incredibly important under certain circumstances. For example, it is not difficult for a skilled player to kill a Treeguard without taking a single hit by running in, doing 3 attacks, and running out before his swipe hits you. However, this hazardous situation can quickly become a larger issue if another hazard, like Freezing in Winter, or being caught in Night, is rapidly approaching. In this situation, the player would need to make a quick cost-benefit analysis and determine if the mob loot is worth possibly freezing, or being attacked by the Grue. With Wolfgang's added damage bonus, these on-the-fly decisions become less of an issue. Wolfgang's bonus damage and health provide a nice benefit to players who are still discovering the true dynamics of combat in Don't Starve. For more experienced players, most situations that require dealing high damage, or taking high damage, can be avoided with some careful planning and some skilled kiting technique. These aspects of Wolfgang's perk are more suited for beginner players, but the last aspect of his perk, 75 bonus hunger, can prove highly advantageous to advanced players. Food Management Beginners may find Wolfgang's cavernous stomach to be a bit of a nuisance at first, since filling him up takes so much food. This is a common misconception since there is literally no benefit whatsoever to actually being "full." If characters received some kind of movement speed bonus, or damage resistance bonus when being full, then Wolfgang would most certainly be at a disadvantage. Since this isn't the case, Wolfgang's larger stomach allows him greater freedom for things like exploration, resource gathering, and mob farming. Experienced players will be able to make good use of his larger stomach because it helps alleviate the necessity of bringing large amounts of Food with them on outings away from camp. Inventory space is precious, and if the player desires to wear anything other than a Backpack, Piggyback, or Krampus Sack, they will need every inventory slot they have for other things. Chester can obviously help alleviate this problem as well, which makes him an even more valuable companion for a Wolfgang player looking to maximize inventory space while still wearing some kind of armor or Dress. With proper planning, players should be able to fill Wolfgang's stomach up and head out on whatever gathering or farming task that needs to be performed, without the need to bring food with them. Wolfgang's 75 bonus hunger amounts to exactly 1 extra Day-Night Cycle. Most characters have 150 hunger, or 2 total cycles before they begin to starve. With Wolfgang, the player can go 3 total days before starvation. With the advice outlined above, it is an effective strategy to setup early honey production and use Rabbit Traps for Morsels necessary to make Honey Nuggets. When enough nuggets have been stored, the player can use Wolfgang's large stomach and increased damage to give themself ample time and efficiency while hunting Beefalo or Koalefants for Meat. While hunting, the bees should produce plenty of honey, and with the meat gathered from a successful hunt, Honey Ham should be quickly attainable. The bonus hunger and health Honey Ham provides almost guarantees Wolfgang's hunger and health will be full at all times if the player is able to stockpile enough of it. For these reasons, it is also wise to try to build an Ice Box as soon as possible as Wolfgang. Since Wolfgang will need to bring less food with him when exploring, food can stay in the Ice Box longer and thus not spoil as quickly. Overall, Wolfgang's perks allow him to quickly setup advanced food production by farming, through tanking, the materials necessary to make honey farms. With the higher level Crock Pot Recipes that can be made with honey, Wolfgang will have no trouble keeping his larger health and hunger meters at max, and his bonus damage will help ensure he will always have the meat necessary to make those recipes. This makes Wolfgang a useful character for players ranging from beginner through advanced, and why he is generally considered beginner to intermediate level. Trivia *Wolfgang's voice is sounded by a tuba. *Despite his moustache, he cannot grow a Beard. *When examining Frog Legs, he states that they "Is delicacy in my country!", suggesting that his nationality could be French. * When examining a Hammer, he states that it "Needs Sickle!", suggesting that he may be (or has been) soviet or just communist. * When examining a Pitchfork, he states that it "Reminds me of childhood," suggesting that he may have been a farmer's son. * When the evening comes, Wolfgang states "The scary time is coming soon." and when his torch goes out, "Aah! The light has gone! I am scared!" suggesting Wolfgang has Nyctophobia (or the game is just making fun of a Strongman being scared of the dark). * When examining a Butterfly, Wolfgang says: "What a pretty flutterby." This is a recurring joke, as Wilson says:"Butterfly, flutter by." and Willow says: "Flutter away butterfly!" Category:Characters